then brooks describes the show horses. he says political celebrities, sarah palin and michele bachmann, produce tweets, not laws. they have created a climate in which purity is prized over practicality. finally, there are the permanent campaigners. according to brooks, for many legislators, the purpose of being in congress is not to pass laws. it's to create clear contrasts you can take into the next election campaign. it's not to take responsibility for the state of the country and make it better, it's to pass responsibility on to the other party and force them to take as many difficult votes as possible. joining me now is bruce bartlett, senior policy analyst in the reagan white house and a columnist now for the fiscal times. thanks for joining me tonight, bruce. >> happy to be here. >> bruce, it is a difficult time to be a thoughtful republican. you and i have chatted about this a bit. david brooks is not alone in his feelings about this, is he? >> no, he's not, but the number of people who are willing to speak out publ